Air France-KLM announces candidacy to acquire TAP Air Portugal

Air France-KLM has announced its interest in a partial buy-out of TAP Air Portugal, the Portuguese national flag carrier. If the French-Dutch multinational is successful it will represent quite a coup amid what has been a keen and ongoing competition to acquire TAP Air Portugal over several years.
A statement by Air France-KLM’s CEO Ben Smith, seen by Bloomberg, praises the Portuguese airline as “”an emblematic company which has built a powerful hub in Lisbon that is open to the world” and says that the group “stands ready to present its candidacy as part of the TAP privatization process.”